Here is at last finally completed the model of the Chilean
airliner that journeyed the long distances of its South American adoptive
country.
And a long building journey this was too, given the fact
that the Italeri kit is just a hasty and half-way effort to provide the
features of the real civil version.
All the mishaps and necessary corrections/additions can be
visited in the step-by-step building article:
A full interior was provided, and the original short tail
had to be modified into a long tailcone. The box art of this kit will
completely mislead you into believing that you are acquiring a long tailcone
version. Bummer.
The most blatant mistake of this old kit is that the two
sets of windows were staggered in the original plane, a fact ignored by Italeri
that takes a lot of time and some skill to correct.
Other many modifications were needed, and of course the
addition of the aftermarket Kora set that provides resin radial engines and
nacelles plus the decals for this version.
On that, I can comment that the fit of the Kora nacelles is
not, let's say, comfortable, and if you don't need the decal sheet it provides
or the other bits, you are better off buying the radial engines and long tail
version offered in one of Italeri's releases (4260). If I had noticed that
before, I would have done exactly that. On a secondary note on the decals, the
ones provided for the prop blades seem inaccurate, since all photos of the
radial versions show invariably a Junkers triangular logo on those blades.
Photos show at least two different liveries, the one
provided by Kora and another that has a more stylized lettering for "Línea
Aérea Nacional" above the windows, instead of on the aft fuselage. Other
features can be glimpsed in photos: a LAN big lettering under the right wing,
and at least in one machine an anti-glare panel on the nose.
I drew immense pleasure from the conversion of a machine of
sinister origins and use, into an airliner that happily is not wearing
despicable symbols, but instead had a good use transporting civilians and goods,
and being useful for peace, not war.
LAN (Línea Aérea Nacional) had four of these Junkers,
starting flying them in 1937-8 (depending on the source), they were capable of
carrying 10 passengers in relative comfort with the necessary sturdiness for the
rough conditions that many times the airline industry of the time had to
operate in.
This old kit as said is not very accurate and it is devoid
of cabin detail, having also raised panel lines, but the fit is quite good, and
the engineering uncomplicated, which is appreciated.
As many other old vintage kits, it can be converted into a
fair representation of the original withy some love and time. I would say that the
skill required for this conversion is within the reach of committed modelers
that had already ventured into some kit-improving and detailing.
Provided you invest some time and effort, you can obtain a
large number of civil airliners from this kit. As stated in the building
article, Kora Models has some sets that cover a few of the choices (not sure
how accurate they are, mine had some glitches), but combining different issues
of the Italeri kit (radial, inline, short tailcone, long tailcone) and doing
your decals you are also set for a nice ride.
Since there is so little material about this Chilean
machines (I have all what is to be found
online, by the way), I am eager to know if fellow aviation enthusiast from Chile could
come forth with more photos. For what I can tell, no registrations or logos
were painted on the upper surfaces of the wings,. and only one photo hints at
"LAN" painted underneath the right wing.
These planes were never together in reality, but the photo makes an interesting comparison:
Very nicley done!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteLovely
ReplyDeleteWOW, extraordinary work indeed, congratulations; my son´s fathers-in-law are chilean, si I´ll show it to them. Best regards. Armando Gil.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Armando!
DeleteQue hermoso trabajo, soy chileno vivo en Rusia y estaba recopilando antecedentes de este avión de Lan, ya tengo interés en comprar la maqueta y dejarla en esta versión, pero veo problemas en conseguir las calcas, tengo solamente las del timón de dirección. Felicitaciones por tu obra. Saludos
ReplyDeleteExtraordinario trabajo, estaba recopilando antecedentes para dejar esta maqueta versión Lan, pero por desgracia me encuentro con el problema que no poseo las calcas correspondientes, tengo solo las del timón de dirección, te felicito por tu gran obra. Saludos de un chileno desde Smolensk Rusia
ReplyDeleteHola Hector
DeleteMuchas gracias. Las calcas las puedes obtener en Arctic Decals, que es quien las fabricó para mí. Su contacto y link está en la cabecera de este artículo hacia la derecha.